Far right political party Forum voor Democratie is about to get its sixth member of parliament, despite winning just three seats in last year’s general election.

Party leader Thierry Baudet is taking six weeks paternity leave following the birth of his second child and will be replaced in parliament by Lidewij de Vos, who was number six on the party’s list of candidates for the 2023 general election.

Baudet could have picked from two other FvD candidates who were higher on the list but they have already replaced MPs who have stepped down for other reasons.

Pepijn van Houwelingen, who was fourth on the part list, has replaced number two Freek Jansen who stepped down after six months to allow Van Houwelingen to work on the parliamentary coronavirus inquiry. That was supposed to be a temporary measure but Jansen remains on the sidelines.

In November, Van Houwelingen himself left parliament for three months paternity leave and was replaced by number five on the party list, Ralf Dekker. He is due to return to the house after the winter break, on March 3.

Jansen is eligible for wachtgeld – the unemployment pay for MPs – and given he was an MP for more than three months, he can claim for two years. It is unclear if he is actually is claiming the cash, but he did say at the time he would make use of the option.

Baudet, however, has said that he is not being paid during his time off and that De Vos will not claim wachtgeld after her time in parliament. MPs who serve less than three months are still entitled to six months money.

Dekker is not entitled to the payout either because he is past the state pension age.